After a slow start, the Halifax Mooseheads are on a roll having won six of their first 10 games. Can they be Maritimes Division champs this season?
Two weeks into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season and the Halifax Mooseheads have rebounded after dropping their first two games. With the returns of goaltender Mathis Rousseau, along defensemen Dylan MacKinnon, Jake Furlong and forward Mathieu Cataford from National Hockey League training camps, the Mooseheads have found their stride.
Contributions from all four lines along with strong defensive play from the backend have propelled the Mooseheads into second in the Canadian Hockey League’s weekly Top 10 rankings. It's an accomplishment done without the reigning CHL Sportsman Of The Year and QMJHL Most Valuable Player, Jordan Dumais, who is currently with the Columbus Blue Jackets nursing an upper-body injury.
Furlong, who signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks on October 5th, has the Mooseheads primed to make a run for the second consecutive year at the Gilles Courteau Trophy, awarded annually to the QMJHL’s champion.
Halifax, who were a mere three minutes away from forcing a game seven in the 2022-23 league championship, return all but one defenseman from last season. Cameron Whynot, a former Calgary Flames draft pick, elected to forego his final year of junior eligibility to play U Sports with the Acadia University Axemen.
The Mooseheads are backstopped by 19-year-old Mathis Rousseau, who currently leads the QMJHL in every statistical category for goaltenders. Rousseau has to be considered a strong candidate to represent Canada at the World Juniors. His early play should be impressing the brass.
Mathieu Cataford, a 2023 Vegas Golden Knights draft pick, is quietly dominating as well. He's proving to be able to produce all on his own and doesn't need to be in the shadows anymore behind the likes of Dumais or graduated players Alex Doucet, Josh Lawrence or Zachary L'Heureux.
Halifax appears poised to win a second straight Maritimes Division Championship. They are odds that should drastically improve with Jordan Dumais in the lineup. It’s only a matter of time before he’s lighting the lamp at the Scotiabank Centre once again.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/QMJHL for year-round coverage of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on The Hockey News-QMJHL. Also follow us on Twitter @HockeyNewsQMJHL.
